Guild Wars 2

OK, I sort of thought this would be addressed by now, and it’s such a tiny gripe but it’s driven me up the wall ever since I started the game when it was released. And now that I have a ranger that uses one, here goes…

The hyenas are hideous. I don’t know who thought it would be a good idea to purposefully make them look as though they’re blind, diseased, and a few days away from death, but it makes me terribly sad every time I see one. Most of the animals in the game are lovely and look, as pets, as though they’re properly taken care of. Even the devourers are kind of adorable. Can’t we have hyenas without a skin disease? I can’t imagine anyone actually prefers unhealthy critters, and I’m sure it would only take a couple minutes for a reskin. Please?

I am 100% with you, they all look like they have mange.

Also… hyenas dont howl!

I can live with the howling. I think that’d take more effort from the team to “fix”. I just want to not shudder and think ill of my ranger’s level of compassion and responsibility every time I look at his pet.

I never really noticed before (never used one as a pet) but looking at the image on the wiki I think it could be a simple fix. Removing the red patches around the eye and making the fur a little bit lighter would make a big difference.

It is very sad… I hope they reskin

I’d just like it if they un-nerfed them back to the way they were, myself.

Stupid foreigners never seen a real hyena in its natural habitat apparently!?! Believe me, the ones in the game are “pretty” compared to what they really look like. Not to mention that carrion smell about them…

They used the same skin as ogre pets.

Those look more ‘dire’ and aggressive.

Real world hyenas are thinner and smaller and do not howl.

But then again, real world rams do not have 4 horns. Gods know how much time has passed since humans came to Tyria and brought all sorts of animals with them.

Considering how little time it took for dogs to look so different, those changes on a hyena would not be far fetched.

And then there’s the bats. Which look more like winged lizards than any real world bat.

Well, that’s because those are not bats at all.

Those are some sort of draconic creature like wyrmlings and pseudodragons.

Hyena’s are pretty nasty critters, but you don’t have to do much more than google them to see images that show they are about as “clean” as any other predator in the areas they live in.
In fact, I’d go as far as to say that some of them have really beautiful coats.

Is it bad that i like the hyenas look in the first game more? i used one all the time, they are my favorite animal after all! That laugh!! but in this game… shudders

KyreneZA.8617:

Stupid foreigners never seen a real hyena in its natural habitat apparently!?! Believe me, the ones in the game are “pretty” compared to what they really look like. Not to mention that carrion smell about them…

It’s true that they look pretty gnarly in the wild sometimes. They’re subject to things like mange and other skin infections, injury, etc. I think a ranger who’s taken one as a pet would treat these things though!

What Elegy said. And I have seen hyenas in the wild, and no, they don’t look worse than the ones in the game. The ones in the game literally look like they’re dying. They’ve got milky eyes and half of their fur gone and retracted gums.

Regarding the size… the IRL hyenas ara quite large animals with about 1 m in height weighing as much as a small adult.

Danikat.8537:

And then there’s the bats. Which look more like winged lizards than any real world bat.

Bats would save this game. Bats. Not those lizard things. Ugh.

Meanwhile, no one at anet ever saw a barracuda. That, or they spelled ‘ugly vaguely fish-like thing’ wrong.

Tachenon.5270:

Meanwhile, no one at anet ever saw a barracuda. That, or they spelled ‘ugly vaguely fish-like thing’ wrong.

Or, hear me out here, they intentionally made both the barracuda and the hyenas look different to their real world counterparts, to further distinguish their world from reality.

Tyria is a world full of dragons, why should their animals look like ours? I see no problem with Tyria-hyenas (or barracudas, for that matter) being different to real ones. There is, of course, a matter of personal taste. If you don’t like how those animals look that’s a perfectly acceptable opinion to have, but I don’t really think “they have never seen a real one” applies here. More likely that it is a deliberate artistic choice.

There are plenty of things in the game which distinguish the game world from reality. Charr, asura, sylvari, norn, the previously mentioned dragons, and such things as ettins, griffins, and fleshreavers.

Then there are those other things which convey a sense of familiarity so that we are not overwhelmed with otherworldly distinction: whales, dolphins, tuna, rabbits, cows, pigs, chickens, etc.

The hyenas of Tyria might be more like hyenadons than hyenas, just as the moas of Tyria are more like phorusrhacos than moas.

But why would you call that sorta kinda almost fishy-thing a barracuda? Why call the flying lizard things bats? Why not call them something original, like, say, ‘Horribly Ugly but Darn Tasty Fish’ and ‘Luahvul Sluggers’.

Wait… do you guys mean murellows?

If so I’ve been laughing/wondering about those things since I was a total noob. They’re hideous. So bad to the point where I had to stop and think “who the hell sits down and decides to draw a creature that looks like this…?”

Purple Miku.7032:

Wait… do you guys mean murellows?

If so I’ve been laughing/wondering about those things since I was a total noob. They’re hideous. So bad to the point where I had to stop and think “who the hell sits down and decides to draw a creature that looks like this…?”

I find them funny as hell too.

Naked real world mole on attachment.

Subutex.2416:

Naked real world mole on attachment.

Is that a baby Dredge?

Right now, the 3 new pet types I could use the most are.

Rodents

• Common skills:
  • Dent armor: Single target unblockable 10s 10 stack vulnerability.
  • Tail Trip: Deals some damage and cripples. Knocks down foes already crippled.
  • Spread Diseases: Deals poison to single target, deals poison in an area if target already has poison.
• Variants:
  • Giant Sabannah Rat (aka [Jahai Rat](http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Jahai_Rat)): Found in Elonian territories.
    • Skill: Toxic Saliva – Deals a really long poison.
  • Giant Albino rat: Found in the Depths of Tyria and some dungeons. Looks like the Jahai Rat, but with white fur and with red eyes.
    • Skill: Dark senses – Causes AoE reveal in a small area around itself (150 radius). Rather long recharge.
  • Ratatusk: A squirrell-like creature with a horn and fangs inspired by the Ratatoskr. Found far west in Magus Falls and beyond.
    • Skill: Glide – Teleports to target regardless of obstacles and deals 4s crippled.
  • Afanc: Beaver-like rodent with crocodile-like fangs and scales.
    • Skill: Jaw Snap – Channeled single target melee attack. Lasts 5 seconds and pulses once per second, dealing some damage and 1s immobilize. If any of the hits fails or misses, the channel is canceled. Can’t move while channeling.
  • Col-gol: Rat-like creature with pangolin-like bone scales coring it, inspired by some depictions of the Colo-Colo. Found northwest around Janthir.
    • Skill: Curl Up – Rolls into a ball like an armadillo or pangolin and becomes invulnerable for 5 seconds.
  • Capibara: We all know these lovable fellows.
    • Skill : Soothing presence – Passive heals 1% of maximum health to ranger and 4 nearby allies every 3 seconds. Active: Gives long regeneration.

Drakebats

• Common skills
  • Bite – Deals damage.
  • Screech – Deals 1s daze.
  • Shriek – Deals 1s fear if flanking the target. Deals 1s revealed otherwise. Long recharge.
• Variants:
  • Cave Bat. Skill: Echolocation – Deals 3s revealed in an area 150 units around itself.
  • Cliff Bat: Skill: Whoosh. Hits 3 times while evading.
  • Frost Bat: Frostbite. Makes the bat and ranger’s next 3 attacks deal 2s chilled..
  • Vampire Bat: Deals damage and heals self.

Dolphin

• Snout jab. Deals damage.
• Flipper slap. Deals daze.
• Rush. Evades, gets protection and deals vulnerability.
• Ranger skill: Echolocation – Deals 3s revealed in an area 150 units around itself.

Other existing animals that can’t be used as pets should be introduced too, like the Scaled Drake, the Whooly Siamoth, Lions, Tigers, the Golden Moa and the Green Moa, thundershrimps, sea turtles, crabs, etc…

(There would still be exceptions, though, mostly animals of big sizes like whales and ruminant quadrupeds like dolyaks, deers, bulls, llamas, marmoxes and sheep. Magical creatures like basilisks, wind riders and skale and ‘beasts’ like minotaurs and griffons would have to be exceptions too. Same as things that are too close to humans like, such as apes like gorillas. )

Purple Miku.7032:

Wait… do you guys mean murellows?

If so I’ve been laughing/wondering about those things since I was a total noob. They’re hideous. So bad to the point where I had to stop and think “who the hell sits down and decides to draw a creature that looks like this…?”

Murellows are supposed to be some sort of bald bear.

Heh, Hyenas are perfect the way they are, i’ve seen them in south africa, they ain’t pretty. They are also a very interesting (in a sort of creepy way) animal. Take this for instance… http://tvblogs.nationalgeographic.com/2014/01/10/worlds-weirdest-giving-birth-through-a-kitten/

Have you considered that maybe some players like the option of having pets that don’t look “pretty and well taken care of”

Hell, both of my real life pets are quite ugly, just due to their genetics, but I still love them.

Not all animals, pets or otherwise, need to look “cute” or even “well fed” this isn’t a “problem that needs to be addressed” it’s why rangers have such a massive range of pet options.

I can see a gem store hyena re-skin comming down the pipes

Tachenon.5270:

Danikat.8537:

And then there’s the bats. Which look more like winged lizards than any real world bat.

Bats would save this game. Bats. Not those lizard things. Ugh.

Meanwhile, no one at anet ever saw a barracuda. That, or they spelled ‘ugly vaguely fish-like thing’ wrong.

Nice pic of Anne and Nancy. The barracuda connection is clear but hopefully they aren’t doubling as the bats!

All of the hyenas in that video are, in my opinion, gorgeous. You know, having all of their fur for all intents and purposes, and not looking blind. That helps. Compare:

http://www.mnh.si.edu/mammals/images/where/africa/hyena_lg01.jpg

http://gw2.mmorpg-life.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/juvenile_hyena_gw2_ranger_pets_1.jpg

One of these animals is, you know, alive, and barring some sort of accident or attack, likely to stay that way. One of them is horribly diseased even for a wild animal, let alone someone’s pet.

zenleto.6179:

Tachenon.5270:

Danikat.8537:

And then there’s the bats. Which look more like winged lizards than any real world bat.

Bats would save this game. Bats. Not those lizard things. Ugh.

Meanwhile, no one at anet ever saw a barracuda. That, or they spelled ‘ugly vaguely fish-like thing’ wrong.

Nice pic of Anne and Nancy. The barracuda connection is clear but hopefully they aren’t doubling as the bats!

Nah, they’re not the bats, but I bet they can both do a mean batusi!

I’m still just happy we got over the weird GW1 models that, for instance, had wolves looking like this.

I love their animation, the only thing I want them to do with hyenas is increase their damage to that of other canines. Its the lowest of any pet in the game by far, its a joke. The hyena ally it summons doesnt make up for it, it dies in seconds when you’re doing anything other than soloing. I always use hyena pets when I can in mmos, I wish I could use the one here too and not be totally kitten =/